Ever since we started this happy little band back in ’96, we’ve proposed that one of the hallmarks of a best practices Website is a well rounded volume of content, tools, and resources that are delivered in a manner that allows visitors to easily achieve stated tasks & goals. Through the years, we’ve noted time and again that Web properties like HP.com & IBM.com rise to the top of the competitive eBusiness Index rankings because they provide visitors with copious quantities of fairly evenly distributed assets & data. Not surprisingly, we’ve also reported that sites like Alcatel-Lucent.com, Lenovo.com, and EDS.com (just to name a few) fall to the bottom of the rankings because they deliver smaller, less balanced content catalogs.

What did strike me,  is just how disproportionately these three laggers supply content across their sites—and the fact that the zones in the most trouble are the ones that present information critical to the company’s core business model or market strategy

Over time, we’ve illustrated this point in a variety of ways, including graphs that show relative performance by category; trendlines that demonstrate competitive strengths & weaknesses; charts that identify content density; and tables that list overall scores. This past year, however, we’ve been using a handy little analysis tool called star charts (a.k.a. spider graphs) that allow us to look at evaluation data in a whole slew of new ways, including a view that demonstrates how well rounded a site’s content portfolio really is.

So, when it came time to roll up the fourth quarter 2007 siteIQ eBusiness Index evaluation numbers, I thought it might be interesting to use a star chart that maps competitive performance by category to illustrate just how balanced sites like HP.com & IBM.com really are. Then I decided to juxtapose their content allocation against some of the less stellar performers on the Index including Alcatel-Lucent.com, Lenovo.com, and EDS.com.

Now, I’ve got to tell you that I wasn’t totally surprised at what I saw when I finished entering the data and looked at the chart. HP.com & IBM.com provide a relatively well-rounded volume of documentation & resources across our BenchMark categories. Conversely, irregular & inconsistent assets are more the norm at Alcatel-Lucent.com, Lenovo.com, and EDS.com. What did strike me, however, is just how disproportionately these three laggers supply content across their sites—and the fact that the zones in the most trouble are the ones that  present information critical to the company’s core business model or market strategy.

HP.com and IBM.com may not be perfectly balanced, but they are leagues ahead of other sites

HP.com and IBM.com may not be perfectly balanced, but they are leagues ahead of other sites

Case in point, take a close look at Alcatel-Lucent.com’s performance in the two categories most critical for network systems Websites; product & channel marketing. Based on our latest evaluations, neither zone delivers a very robust set of resources. Ditto the site’s support & training zones, two categories of additional importance to networking vendors. Alcatel-Lucent.com does kick butt, however, in online recruiting; the site beats even HP.com & IBM.com.

Next, check out how EDS.com’s competitive performance maps by category. Although it comes close to the target in services marketing, obviously the most significant zone of any professional services firm’s site, its corporate marketing information, which is arguably as important given the industry segment, is sorely lacking. That said, EDS.com comes out slightly ahead of all other sites mapped in navigation & architecture.

Meanwhile, with the exception of Website design, Lenovo.com is missing the mark in every tracked category, and falls miserably below the competitive target in those most important to its business model. What’s more, HP.com is smoking Lenovo.com in key areas including product, services & community/industry marketing and eSelling. This can’t be good since HP.com sells PCs online, just like Lenovo.com.

Unfortunately, Alcatel-Lucent.com, Lenovo.com, and EDS.com’s irregular delivery of assets not only means that these sites map erratic category-by-category performance, it also indicates that they provide an inconsistent experience for visitors. More important, the lack of densely delivered content in mission critical areas suggests that users are likely to encounter gaps in information that can hinder—or halt—their ability to achieve desired objectives.

All of this brings us back to the point I made at the beginning of this blog entry: one of the hallmarks of a best practices Website is a well-rounded volume of content, tools, and resources that are delivered in a manner that allows visitors to easily achieve stated tasks & goals.

Noting that the operative word is well-rounded, however, volume becomes less important. Sure, HP.com & IBM.com will continue to earn competitive leadership because they boast behemoth content catalogs, but that doesn’t mean that smaller sites like Alcatel-Lucent.com, Lenovo.com, and EDS.com can’t appear equally as consistent as the “big dogs” in their delivery of information. Unfortunately, the view illustrated in the competitive performance by category star chart indicates that achieving this feat will require the serious augmentation of resources in some critical site zones—and the reduction of superfluous assets in others.

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